mix | match | make

Camping is a Novelty

I’ve participated in NaNoWriMo for several years now, but the new and novel Camp NaNo is something I’ve never been brave enough to try. Camping has always sounded kind of scary. Wild animals. Bugs. Cold nights. Did I mention bugs? Of course, Camp NaNoWriMo isn’t actually a camp. You get to stay at home in your cozy writing nook.

Since I’ve made almost no writing progress all winter I’m going to give camping with my WIP a shot this year.

For those of you who are too intimidated by NaNoWriMo to give it a try, I think Camp NaNo might be more your pace. Here’s why:

1. NaNoWriMo has always been all about encouraging writers to be productive. They have every tool imaginable to make sure you have what you need to stay motivated.

2. Camp NaNo has a Cabin feature that allows you to bunk with other writers. This is something I’m very excited about as it includes a message board which will allow me to spam my new friends with favorite inspirational writing quotes, cheer them on as they make progress, and share my own milestones along the way. You can, of course, opt out of joining a Cabin if this social aspect doesn’t appeal.

3. Unlike regular old NaNoWriMo, Camp NaNo allows you to pick your own pace and preferred method of progress. You can select Pages, Words, Lines, or Hours and you also get to pick the ultimate goal for the month. This makes it easy to use as a tool to get through an editing pass, train yourself to write daily, track your usual slow-and-steady progress… whatever you like! And since you get to set everything up yourself, you’re pretty much guaranteed to win!

4. NaNoWriMo is technically social media, so if you’re trying to up your online presence this is a really easy way to show up on the radar. Just be sure that you set it up under your penname if this is your goal.